[Freethe SF8] SF 8 - First of several Conditional Exams

[SF-8 case]

The first of several prosecution witnesses appeared in closed 
sessions this week in the San Francisco 8 case. These "conditional 
exams" of five witnesses who are old and in poor health are taking 
place as they may not be available at trial. They are testifying in 
advance of the preliminary hearing scheduled for September 8th.

Jack Girot, a former SF Police Officer was in court for two days and 
was questioned about a "stolen bicycle" report filed at the Ingleside 
Police Station in 1971. The notes he took are lost or destroyed. The 
report originally prepared by Girot was "enhanced" by unknown person 
or persons with additional information not provided by Girot. He 
could not identify the people who made the report. A co-authored 
Erdalatz and McCoy intra-departmental memo puts an additional Black 
male in the police station at the time of the stolen bicycle report 
with no reference to the source of the information. Girot could not 
identify any of the defendants in the case from either their current 
photographs or photos from 1971.

The next exams are scheduled for August 22 & August 25-28.

Judge Moscone had Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim appear unshackled in 
court for the first time, when neither the SF County Sheriff (who 
runs the jail and security in the courthouse) nor the prosecutors objected.

The California State Prosecutors office has not allowed the defense 
to see the text of a proposed agreement to return Herman and Jalil to 
New York state for their parole hearings. The delays make it unlikely 
that they can have their legally-guaranteed hearings before the 
September preliminary hearing. Prosecutors are saying that until the 
extradition papers are signed, they remain confidential and will not 
be presented to Judge Moscone to sign.

Judge Philip Moscone had earlier (on May 22) signed an order allowing 
Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim to return to New York state for their 
parole hearings. All parties agreed that the move would be temporary; 
Herman and Jalil waived their rights to fight extradition back to California.

This is a vindictive and mean-spirited procedural delay. Strong 
arguments were made to guarantee Herman and Jalil's right to "pursue 
their liberty interests" and have parole hearings. Both have served 
over 30 years in prison as model prisoners. Both were targeted 
originally by COINTELPRO as members of the Black Panther Party.




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